March First Movement

March First Movement, also called Samil Independence Movement, series of demonstrations for Korean national independence from Japan that began on March 1, 1919, in the Korean capital city of Seoul and soon spread throughout the country. Before the Japanese finally suppressed the movement 12 months later, approximately 2,000,000 Koreans had participated in the more than 1,500 demonstrations. About 7,000 people were killed by the Japanese police and soldiers, and 16,000 were wounded; 715 private houses, 47 churches, and 2 school buildings were destroyed by fire. Approximately 46,000 people were arrested, of whom some 10,000 were tried and convicted.

The movement was begun by 33 Korean cultural and religious leaders who, after almost 10 years of Japanese rule, drew up a Korean “Proclamation of Independence” and then organized a mass demonstration in Seoul for March 1, 1919, their late emperor’s commemoration day. On the appointed day, the 33 leaders, hoping to bring international pressure on Japan to end her colonial rule in Korea, signed and read their proclamation and had coconspirators read it in townships throughout the country. The suppressed anti-Japanese feelings of Koreans were released in one great explosion, and mass demonstrations took place in many parts of the country, forming the largest national protest rallies against foreign domination in Korean history.

Though the movement failed to bring about its paramount goal of national independence, it was significant in strengthening national unity, leading to the birth in Shanghai of the Korean Provisional Government (q.v.), and drawing worldwide attention. Finally, the failure of the March First Movement greatly enhanced the rise of the Korean communist party. Today, March 1 is a national holiday in both North and South Korea.